In a week of weird events National’s decision not to debate Labour in the Press’s leader’s debate has been a massive own goal because the country will be able to see how toxic David Seymour’s and Winston Peters’ relationship is.
Skyfall was 10 years ago but it has a message for all public servants local or central as you choose your vote.
National’s failure to adequately explain how its new revenue policies will work has seen its support sag. And its problem is that if it depends on Winston Peters for confidence and supply he has expressed major reservations about these policies and there is no guarantee he will support them. And a significant majority of New Zealanders understand this.
As the polls show a further slump in support for the right and as Winston Peters emerges as a kingmaker there is growing concern about the possibility of a real coalition of chaos being elected.
Fact checking by TVNZ has determined that much of what Christopher Luxon said in the recent leader’s debate was not true.
From the outside, the New Zealand 2023 General Election seems both lacklustre and slightly strange. The Labour Government, having won a huge majority in 2020 is now fighting for its political life. Yet National, the main centre-right opposition party is still on average polling significantly worse now than they were when it lost power in 2017.
Despite repeated analysis that its policies do not add up National is refusing to release the costings behind its policies.
Independent economists have calculated that there is a half a billion dollar hole in National’s foreigner land purchase tax policy.
National has reached new levels of excessive hyperbole in response to the PREFU release which was better than expected.
National has proposed to direct teachers how and what they should teach to improve literacy standards.
National, which perfected the art of dirty politics, and which has spent the past couple of years being relentlessly negative and which has had its sock puppets attack individual Labour MPs mercilessly is deeply, deeply, deeply upset that the CTU has pointed out to the public what a Christopher Luxon led Government would actually mean.
Yes we could do the next five weeks on teeth and taxes, but actually China is pulling us down and our political parties need to make it an election issue.
When the history of the 2023 New Zealand Aotearoa general election is written and if Labour gets up to win historians will point to the events of this week as the turning point in what has already been a dramatic year in politics. Because I cannot believe how bad National’s tax cut policy release has been researched and structured and how bad its release is going.
Yesterday was a good day for Labour. Leader Chris Hipkins started talking about what the party stood for and what its values are while also ruling out a coalition with NZ First.
If there was a change of Government the next Government could potentially be full of fundamentalist Christians, anti vaxers and all sorts of people whose view of Aotearoa is not conventional or reality based.
National MP Tim Van Der Molen has been found to have been in contempt of Parliament for aggressive, hostile and threatening behaviour towards Labour MP Shannan Halbert during a select committee hearing.
David Seymour yesterday hit a new low in race baiting when he said that “in my fantasy we’d send a guy called Guy Fawkes in [to the ministry of Pacific Peoples] and it’d be all over”.
National has this propensity of announcing policies that scratch conservative itches, cost nothing and hog media attention. Yesterday we had a classic example of this as they announced that cell phones would be banned at schools.
Some big news yesterday as the Government announced a deal with US Investment Firm Blackrock for a $2 billion fund for renewable electricity projects.
National’s latest policy announcement shows that it has an unmistakable fetish for tar seal.
My 2c on what I think Chris Hipkins needs to do to win this year’s election.
This week Labour has announced toughening up of the law dealing with 12 and 13 year olds and National has been playing politics with the shooting incident after earlier saying it was not a day to play politics.
Hipkins being himself is his election-winning attribute.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins spoke this week on how the Government is acting to protect and advance the safety and security of New Zealand and New Zealanders while dealing with those countries that have most influence over us.
Yesterday in Parliament National attempted to embarrass Carmel Sepuloni in question time by asking her detailed economic questions. But the attempt backfired.
National has released a hotch potch policy of changes to Criminal Justice that is uncosted and seeks to achieve that which is already in force or proposed.
Fresh from news that Christopher Luxon ordered a State supplied Tesla when his household already owns one comes news that the household Tesla was upgraded, and that the clean car discount was obtained.
Another week and another example of National using dog whistle racism to stir up hatred and try and gain political advantage. This time it is to attack the notion that our health system should be seeking to look after those most in need.
Ad reports on Christopher Luxon’s meeting in Wanaka.
Over recent periods National has run a very tightly focused campaign against state support for Tesla owners. But news that Christopher Luxon actively sought a Government supplied Tesla when he already owns one suggests that he thinks that the rules should be different for him.
Christopher Luxon has gone onto the charm offensive by describing New Zealand as a negative, wet, whiny, inward looking country that has lost the plot.
According to National holding a modest shareholding can open a Minister to allegations of conflict of interest but owning seven investment properties and proposing beneficial tax treatment of landlords does not.
Last night I watched Christopher Luxon in a interview with Jack Tame on Q&A from youtube. My takeaway from it was that I don’t want this fool anywhere near actual policy. He exhibited a blissful ignorance about downstream effects of genetic engineering, climate change, and productivity in our economy. Even where I agreed with him like on GE – I didn’t want this idiot implementing policy on it.
National continues to appease Federated Farmers and has just announced a policy of easing up of restrictions and safeguards on Genetic Engineering.
The focus groups have spoken. National has performed a complete reversal on the bipartisan changes to the Resource Management Act amendments designed to improve housing supply and introduced only 18 months ago.
National’s promise to increase the age of retirement and likely cuts to Cullen fund contributions and state Kiwisaver payments have been seized on by Labour as evidence that National does not care about ordinary people.
